Chennai, March 10 (IANS) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin strongly condemned Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for calling Members of Parliament (MPs) from Tamil Nadu ‘uncivilised’ during the parliamentary session on Monday (March 10).
In a post on X, Stalin criticised Pradhan’s remarks, stating, “Education Minister @dpradhanbjp, who speaks arrogantly as if he considers himself a king, needs to mind his language.” The Chief Minister further questioned, “What audacity do you, who deceive Tamil Nadu by denying its rightful funds, have to call Tamil Nadu MPs uncivilised? You are insulting the people of Tamil Nadu. Does the Honorable Prime Minister @narendramodi subscribe to this?”
He also shared a copy of Pradhan’s letter dated August 30, 2024, in which the Union Minister acknowledged Tamil Nadu’s categorical rejection of the National Education Policy (NEP) and the trilingual policy in the PM-SHRI Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Seemingly responding to Pradhan’s ‘Super CM’ remark targeting the DMK leadership, Stalin retorted, “Mr Pradhan, we act only based on the will of the people! Unlike you, we do not obey the diktats of Nagpur.”
He further asserted, “We neither agreed to implement your scheme nor can anyone force us to do so. Just answer this — can you release the funds meant for Tamil Nadu students and the taxes collected from us or not?”
Stalin’s sharp criticism is part of the ongoing conflict between Tamil Nadu and the BJP-led Union government over the implementation of the NEP and the trilingual policy. The Centre has recently been pushing states to adopt the NEP to receive education-related funds.
It may be recalled that in his letter dated August 30, 2024, Pradhan referred to an earlier communication from the Tamil Nadu government, dated March 15, 2024, expressing his willingness to sign the PM-SHRI MoU for the 2024-25 academic year. However, Pradhan pointed out that when the draft MoU was sent to the state, Tamil Nadu responded with a modified version on July 6, 2024, in which references to the full implementation of the NEP 2020 had been removed.
Pradhan argued that since Tamil Nadu is already implementing the Samagra Shiksha scheme, which aligns with the NEP 2020, it would be appropriate for the state to implement all NEP initiatives under the PM-SHRI scheme. He claimed this would help develop government schools as model institutions for high-quality education.
The standoff between Tamil Nadu and the Union government escalated further on Monday (March 10), leading to heated exchanges in Parliament and an eventual adjournment of the Lok Sabha on the first day of the current session.
The confrontation began when DMK MP Thamizhachi Thangapandian from Chennai South criticised the Union government for withholding funds due to Tamil Nadu’s refusal to adopt the NEP.
Reacting sharply, Union Minister Pradhan accused DMK MPs of being “uncivilised” and harming Tamil Nadu’s students by rejecting the PM-SHRI agreement linked to NEP 2020. This clash comes amid the DMK’s efforts to mobilise political parties nationwide against the BJP-led government’s policies on education, language, and devolution of funds to states.
–IANS
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